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Lionel Messi has been honored with a stand after his name at his boyhood club Newell's Old Boys on his 38th birthday. The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner turned 38 on June 24 and was given a great honor by his former club.
A new stand was named after Lionel Messi's name at the Coloso Marcelo Bielsa stadium. The Argentine side also have a stand named after Argentine legend Diego Maradona, who had a brief stint at the club in 1993-94. Newell's Old Boys wrote on their Instagram page, as quoted by MSN:
"Today, the Coloso writes a new page. For the first time, the two most powerful names in soccer history live under the same roof: OURS."
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Newell's Old Boys named their stadium 'El Coloso' after former Argentine player turned manager Marcelo Bielsa in 2009. The 69-year-old used to represent them both as a player and a manager and is now the manager of the Uruguay national team.
The new Lionel Messi stand will take Newell's stadium capacity to 50,000 which will be a big boost for the club. Messi is a boyhood fan of the club and joined them aged six and stayed at the club until turning 13, when he joined Barcelona.
When Marc Cucurella picked between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo
Chelsea left-back Marc Cucurella once opened up on the GOAT debate between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The Spain international claimed that he considers Messi the greatest of all time having shared the dressing room with him at Barcelona. He told GOAL in 2023:
"Lionel Messi, because for me he is the No. 1 in the world. I played with him at Barcelona and I trained with him a lot. The most incredible thing is that when you watch the game he’s walking a lot, [but] he’s watching everything, watching the space. And then when he receives the ball he has the information and the gaps in his mind [so] he is ready to ‘kill’ the other team."
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo dominated world football for almost two decades with both shattering record after record. With the two players playing for arch rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid for a long time, the rivalry got even more discussed.
Messi has won the prestigious Ballon d'Or on eight occasions, whereas Ronaldo won it five times. Messi is also the most decorated player with 46 trophies, whereas Ronaldo has won 36 trophies during his illustrious career.
